"Negotiaphobia" Stalling Vehicle Purchases in Canada

TORONTO, Oct. 18, 2016 /CNW/ - Many Canadians would prefer to hang on to their current vehicle than go through what they consider the intimidating process of negotiating a deal on their next ride, according to the findings of a recent autoTRADER.ca study exploring consumer confidence in buying and selling vehicles.

Despite the fact that nearly half (47 per cent) of those polled are actually in the market to buy a vehicle within the next six months, about one in five (18 per cent) Canadians are holding off from purchasing due to value uncertainty and fear of negotiation.

A whopping three quarters (73 per cent) of Canadian car owners are unaware of their current vehicle's value, while forty-four per cent do not believe the last vehicle they sold was reflective of its market value at the time. When put to the test and asked to estimate the true value of common used vehicle makes and models, including a Honda Civic, Toyota RAV4 and a Ford F-150, the vast majority of Canadians undervalued these vehicles by thousands of dollars. In fact, an overwhelming 90 per cent of survey respondents could not identify the true value of these vehicles within $1,000.

"With all the elements to consider, we understand that buying or selling a vehicle can be a challenging task for the average Canadian," says Michael Bettencourt, managing editor, autoTRADER.ca. "With more and more car shoppers doing their primary research online, before setting foot in a dealership, it's more important than ever to provide near real-time vehicle information to help them with making the best purchase decisions."

autoTRADER.ca has recently unveiled new tools to further empower consumers when it comes to buying and selling vehicles. For those in the market for a new ride, the site now highlights dealer listings from across the country that offer brand new vehicles at heavily discounted prices from suggested retail price (MSRP). This allows buyers to save a great deal of both time and money by easily searching inventory and pricing before visiting their favourite dealers.

Alternatively, for those seeking to buy or sell used vehicles, autoTRADER.ca has introduced new functionality on Vehicle Detail Pages, called "I.Q." that takes the guess work out of finding your vehicle's value. Many profile pages now incorporate up-to-the-minute data and figures, eliminating the need to manually cross-reference multiple listings or consult alternative dated sources. This allows buyers and sellers to be more informed, quickly finding out a vehicle's true current value based on a number of key parameters, allowing them to negotiate a deal with confidence and ease without fear of leaving money on the table.

Key features now available through the new autoTRADER.ca IQ offering include:

Price Analysis: How your price compares to average market value

Condition Analysis: The condition of the specific vehicle

Feature Highlight: The unique features of a specific vehicle

Summary Widget: A summary of the Price Analysis, Condition Analysis and Feature Highlights

Additional results from the autoTRADER.ca study:

Put things into perspective: Among those not confident about making a good deal, 59 per cent would rather keep their old vehicle than negotiate a car deal.

Confidence comes with age: Canadians aged 55+ (59 per cent) are more than twice as likely as millennials 18-34 (28 per cent) to say they feel confident about making a good deal when it comes to negotiating a car deal. Millennial car owners aged 18-34 (37 per cent) are significantly more likely than those aged 35-54 (24 per cent) and 55+ (15 per cent) to say they feel stressed out when negotiating a car deal.

Boomers know how to fake it, 'till they make it: While those aged 55+ are the least likely to know the current value of their car, they are significantly more likely (67 per cent) than those aged 35-54 (60 per cent) and 18-34 (55 per cent) to think they negotiated well in their last vehicle sale or purchase.

Francophones feel the fear the most: While 68 per cent of Quebec residents (more than any other region) think they negotiated reasonably well in their last vehicle sale or purchase, they are also the most likely (17 per cent) to say they feel a "fear factor" when it comes to negotiating a car deal, nearly twice as high as the national average of nine per cent.

Stress rules the West: One-quarter (24 per cent) of Canadian car owners say they feel stressed out when it comes to negotiating a car deal, with British Columbians (29 per cent) most likely to feel this way.

Men are asking for directions: While men (35 per cent) are significantly more likely than women (20 per cent) to think they know the market value of their current vehicle, they are significantly more likely than women (55 per cent vs. 38 per cent) to use an online marketplace to determine a fair vehicle price.

Get a second opinion: When it comes to information gathering, an overwhelming 74 per cent of Canadians would consider a second opinion on value before buying or selling their next vehicle with nearly half (47 per cent) using an online marketplace (such as autoTRADER.ca) as a central source for intelligence.

"Just like most things in life, preparation really is the key to success," adds Bettencourt. "When it comes to making sound car buying or selling decisions, it's important that Canadians do their homework, from using online tools to seeking second opinions, reading reviews and checking in with multiple dealers, make sure to gather all the information needed to negotiate a deal with confidence."

SURVEY METHODOLOGY: From August 3rd to August 4th, 2016 an online survey was conducted among 1,514 randomly selected Canadian adults who are Angus Reid Forum panelists. The margin of error—which measures sampling variability—is +/- 2.5%, 19 times out of 20. The results have been statistically weighted according to education, age, gender and region (and in Quebec, language) Census data to ensure a sample representative of the entire adult population of Canada. Discrepancies in or between totals are due to rounding.

TRADER Corporation is a trusted Canadian leader in print and online media, managing automotive consumer marketplaces and publications. The company's primary online destinations include: autoTRADER.ca™, autoHEBDO.net™, and Autos.ca. autoTRADER.ca offers the largest inventory of new cars and used cars in Canada, available via our website and mobile applications. Visitors buy or sell cars, trucks or other motorized vehicles quickly, easily and conveniently. Buyers can search based on vehicle model, make, colour and geographic location to find the deal that is right for them. Follow autoTRADER.ca on Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and on YouTube.